May 9, 2013    

Robert T. Garrett    

The state comptroller would have to take a bit more risk investing most of the money in the rainy day fund under a bill the House approved on Thursday.

The bill was sent to the Senate by a vote of 132-2.

Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, said his measure is about "being safe" with taxpayer dollars but also "being a better steward."

Even if Comptroller Susan Combs continued to invest the rainy-day money very conservatively, she could earn about 3 percent interest on slightly more than half of the fund balance over the next two years, Branch said. The more aggressive approach would generate about $450 million in additional earnings, he said.

May 8, 2013    

Claire Cardona    

Rep. Dan Branch's bill to ease the transfer between two and four-year colleges tentatively passed the House on a voice vote Wednesday.

Branch said his bill will develop better student transfer pathways by requiring colleges to develop common objectives for coursework in major degree fields that are acceptable across institutions.

Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, tacked on as an amendment a bill she authored that hasn't had much luck getting a vote on the House floor.

The amendment would authorize the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create a common course numbering system to ease the transfer of credits.

May 8, 2013    

Eric Nicholson    

When State Representative Dan Branch introduced his proposal to change the name of a seven-mile stretch of Central to George W. Bush Expressway, we thought it might be one of those novelty bills that gets a couple of chuckles before dying a quiet death in committee. We hoped it was, at least. We couldn't stomach the confusion of having two North Texas freeways named for George Bushes.

May 6, 2013    

Editorial    

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas would adopt a version of California's 'Chelsea's Law' that mandates life in prison for certain sexual assault convictions under a bill given tentative approval in the House.

The law is named for San Diego teenager Chelsea King who was killed in 2010. King was out for a run in a state park when she was raped and killed by a 31-year-old convicted child molester.

May 6, 2013    

Karen Brooks Harper    

A handful of bills set for debate on the House floor that deal with taxes in a number of ways. Of course we don't know which tax cuts will end up in the final deal hammered out on the budget between the House and Senate.

But these votes will give us a fairly thorough look at where the House is, as a chamber, on tax relief. (And we can thank our own DMN reporter Bob Garrett for most of the info here.)

POSTPONED UNDER THURSDAY HB 416 by House Ways and Means Chairman Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, would cost $2.5 million annually from the property tax relief fund by adjusting the tax burden on internet hosting companies – a bill that would specifically benefit San Antonio-based Rackspace . Hilderbran has taken some heat over this bill from critics who say he's doing a favor for a major campaign donor, and from smaller companies who complain that their competitors are being given an advantage. Hilderbran argues that Texas-based companies are actually disadvantaged by the current tax code and his legislation seeks to remedy that.

May 2, 2013    

Associated Press    

Public universities in Texas would have to offer students fixed four-year tuition prices under a bill that has cleared a key House vote.

Gov. Rick Perry has hammered public universities about making college more affordable. A proposal by Republican state Rep. Dan Branch would offer locked-in tuition plans that prohibit universities from charging a student more in their senior year than what they paid as a freshman.

The University of Texas system already offers fixed tuition at UT-El Paso and requires it at UT-Dallas. The UT System has also now instructed all campuses to offer fixed pricing.

May 2, 2013    

Editorial    

AUSTIN--Public universities in Texas would have to offer students fixed four-year tuition rates under a bill that cleared a key House vote.

Gov. Rick Perry has hammered public universities about making college more affordable.

The proposal by state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Houston, would offer locked-in tuition plans that prohibit universities from charging a student more in their senior year than what they paid as a freshman.

The University of Texas system already offers fixed tuition at UT-El Paso and requires it at UT-Dallas.

May 1, 2013    

Claire Cardona    

With no debate, Rep. Dan Branch's bill to require universities to offer fixed tuition rates for four-years passed by a voice vote onto the third reading in the House.

Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas (Katie Currid/The Dallas Morning News)

Branch said the bill will give parents and students "a tool to provide price certainty when planning for college." It's also an incentive for students to graduate in four years, which ties into Gov. Rick Perry's push to improve graduation rates.

May 1, 2013    

Kolten Parker    

Universities would be required to offer students a four-year fixed tuition option under a bill approved by the House Wednesday.

Dallas Republican Dan Branch, chair of the Higher Education Committee, said his bill would offer a more predictable option for families to pay for rising tuition costs, a notion Gov. Rick Perry backed prior to the session.

House Bill 29 would require general academic institutions to offer undergraduate students a payment plan in which the price of tuition "remains constant during the four academic years following the student's initial enrollment."

The bill passed on a voice vote with little discussion on the House floor and now moves to the Senate.

May 1, 2013    

Claire Cardona    

AUSTIN — Universities may soon be able to offer their students a set four-year tuition rate, taking some of the guesswork out of paying for a degree.

The House tentatively approved Rep. Dan Branch's bill to require universities to offer fixed tuition rates. Branch, R-Dallas, said the measure will give parents and students "a tool to provide price certainty when planning for college."

It's also an incentive for students to graduate in four years, aligning with Gov. Rick Perry's push to improve graduation rates and make college more affordable.